Tagged: Stateside

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman heard arguments today for and against Michigan's constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage and civil unions.

There was some thought that the judge would rule on the case today. Instead, he decided to wait until after the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on two unrelated same-sex marriage cases.

On today's show, we got an update on the court case in Detroit.

And, we heard about what's working to increase high school graduation rates. One Wayne County school district has made a dramatic difference in how many of its kids graduate from high school.

But first, we talk "re-shoring" with Tobias Schoenherr, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, and Tom Harrison, CEO of Michigan Ladder Company based in Ypsilanti.

"Re-shoring is the opposite of "outsourcing" and "off-shoring."

Listen to these interview and more by clicking on the audio above.

The Detroit City Council will challenge Governor Snyder’s decision to appoint an emergency financial manager for the city.

The Council also approved a resolution asking Governor Snyder to delay his appointment.

They’re asking that he wait until a new emergency manager law kicks in later this month.

Council member Ken Cockrel Junior says that would give the city more choices.

"You could take the existing consent agreement, actually rewrite it and enhance it. So, what do you want to call that? A new consent agreement, or modification of the old one? I think we’d have the ability to do that," said Cockrel.

The appeal comes even as Detroit mayor Dave Bing declined to sign on to the effort.

"This decision does not mean that I'm turning the keys to our city over to the state or throwing in the towel," said Bing. "It is simply a fight that we cannot win at the eleventh hour in a 30-minute appeals hearing."

A hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday in Lansing.

It is with this backdrop that we turned to Detroit News businesses columnist Daniel Howes.

He wrote a column about how businesses are moving to Detroit despite all these problems.

Listen to the full interview above.

There's a little shop on the Main Street of Lake Orion in Oakland County that can teach the rest of the state a big lesson in how to create jobs for workers with disabilities.

The shop is called "Everything Michigan," and it's located in the North Oakland Vocational Association building.

NOVA has been around since 1992 helping disabled workers train for and find jobs around North Oakland County.

One of those workers is Barbara Bell. She has set up her "Everything Michigan" shop to sell products that are all about Michigan.

Store manager LaToi English joined us today from Lake Orion.

Federal Judge Bernard Friedman decided not to rule on Michigan's gay marriage ban this morning.

He said he wanted to wait until after the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on same-sex marriage.

Rick Pluta was at today’s hearing in Detroit and he joined to talk about this surprise decision.

He talked with us about the takeaway from today's hearing.

From Maine, to California - from Alaska to Hawaii - one of the biggest challenges facing governors and state lawmakers is how to plug the gaping holes in their budgets.

Certainly, Michigan is right in the thick of that challenge.
 
There are plenty of belt-tightening measures that have been taken - cost-cutting steps that can leave the quality of life for citizens somehow diminished.
 
But a new report offers another way to plug those holes in struggling state budgets: keep our kids from dropping out of high school. Increase the graduation rates.

The education advocates who put this report together find that high school dropouts cost our nation some $1.8 billion in lost tax revenue.
 
Today we took a closer look at the cost of high school dropouts, and we found out how one Michigan school district has successfully managed to raise its graduation rate.
 
We were joined by Michigan State University economist Charley Ballard and the Superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools, Brian Whiston.
 
Listen to the full interview above.

“Outsourcing” and “off-shoring” - those are words our parents and grandparents never really encountered.

But if you’ve worked in Michigan the past 10 to 15 years, it’s a pretty safe bet you are very aware of outsourcing and off-shoring.

American manufacturers have sent tens of thousands of jobs overseas or across the border - to Mexico, to China, to India, and other countries - setting up foreign plants or farming out work to foreign manufacturers in those countries where labor is cheaper, and costs are lower.

But there’s a new term being heard these days - "Re-Shoring."

Could it be that work is coming home from those distant shores?

Tobias Schoenherr, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, and Tom Harrison, CEO of Michigan Ladder Company based in Ypsilanti, joined us today.

You can listen to the full interview above.

We're more than three years into an economic recovery, but as we in Michigan battle our way back to that recovery, it's a fair question to wonder: when will we get our jobs back to where they were before the Great Recession came smashing its way into our lives?

According to a new forecast from IHS Global Insight, an economics and financial forecasting firm, the answer seems to be "don't hold your breath". Even though six states have made their way back to their peak employment levels, meaning the pre-Great-Recession levels, the news is not as bright for Michigan. Bob Tomarelli, an economist with IHS Global Insight, joined us from Philadelphia. 

The State Supreme Court began hearing cases this week with a full bench.

With Governor Snyder's appointment of new Justice David Viviano to replace former Justice Diane Hathaway, it was the first time in some six weeks that the court has had seven sitting justices.

Of course, Diane Hathway had to step down from the court in January and has since pleaded guilty to a federal bank fraud charge in connection with a family real estate deal. Detroit News columnist Laura Berman had been giving a lot of thought to the appointment of Justice Viviano, and her column in Tuesday's Detroit News reflects her disappointment in Governor Snyder's  choice of a man to replace Diane Hathaway. We now have five men and two women on the Supreme Court. Click the audio link above to hear the full interview.